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8 South Broadway, Nyack, NY
There are no two used bookstores alike. Some are in big, rambling barns. Some are a bit gloomy and dusty. Some are neat as a pin and narrow as a galley kitchen. And some are a delightful mound of books that seem to be tumbling from every shelf in a magical state of disarray. Pickwick Bookshop is the latter, and I mean that in the best way imaginable.
Read more10 Bridge Street, Shelburne Falls, MA
Boswell’s Books resides in the downtown heart of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, a village that itself is a wonderful destination for those looking for tranquil New England villages. Besides the Bridge of Flowers and the falls themselves, there are shops, restaurants, and of course, great bookshops like this one to wander through. Boswell’s has been an active part of the community since 1991, and it was a delight to visit.
Read more20 State Street, Shelburne Falls, MA
From the waterfalls and the Bridge of Flowers to the quint storefronts and meandering river views, it’s easy to see why Shelburne Falls was one of the filming locations for a cozy New England film like The Holdovers, but it’s also home to some wonderful small, indie bookshops. Nancy L Dole Books is one of them, and it’s a trove of rare and hard to find tomes mixed in with classics and nostalgic pieces of historical kitsch.
Read more29 Rue de la Parcheminerie, Paris, France
The Latin Quarter is rife with narrow streets and even tighter alleys where you’ll find late-night cafés, Greek restaurants, creperies, wine bars, tiny luxury shops, big and bright chocolatiers, and somewhere in the warren of cobbles pathways you will come across the Abbey Bookshop. The little sliver of a street where it resides looks more like a service alley, but the flags and bookshelves out front give it away. If you’ve spotted it, then you’ve arrived at one of the best bookshops in the neighborhood, possibly even better than Shakespeare & Co., if used books are your thing.
Read more8 Federal St, Greenfield, MA
I drove to Greenville on a sunny spring morning, delighted to find not one but at least three indie booksellers open. The first one I stepped into was the delightful Federal Street Books, easy to spot by its stylish exterior design and large pillar signage out front. I also found a cart of dollar books out front, always a good sign, and things got even better when I stepped inside.
Read more6 Church Street, New Paltz, NY
As noted in a previous review, New Paltz has a unique “bookstore block,” in that both of the town’s indie bookshops are located directly across the street from each other right downtown. Directly across from Barner Books is Inquiring Minds, housed in a brick building and a bright red ground-floor exterior with $1 bookshelves built right into the wall. There were also display tables outside with large coffee table books on discount. Once inside, I realized the shop’s offerings were almost as expansive as the other location I reviewed up in Saugerties, NY.
Read more349 Nassau Street, Princeton, NJ
A brief review for a small bookshop, but one worth investigating by intrepid book hunters seeking mystery, crime, and noir.
Read more28 Holden Street, North Adams, MA
North Adams is one of many artistic bastions in the hills and mountains of western Massachusetts, and Mass MoCA is one of it’s major draws, hosting art exhibitions, music festivals, and cultural events year-round. So for a town as interesting as North Adams, I expected a bevy of bookstores. I only found one, The Bear and Bee, a new and used bookshop, but it does a phenomenal job of representing the literary interests of the area.
Read moreThe Hudson Valley has become an increasingly revitalized haven for NYC exp-pats, with towns like Hudson, Beacon, and Kingston blooming into re-gentrified versions of themselves in recent decades. But some towns, like Woodstock or New Paltz, always retained their ‘60s counter-culture vibrance and found ways to hold on to that quirky way of living even during leaner years. Driving into New Paltz these days could land you in a little traffic jam and a maze-like hunt for public parking on nicer weekend, but the trip is worth it. The cafes, art galleries, music and food, all a mix of new and old artistry coming together in the compact little town not far from the SUNY College campus. And of course, there are bookstores. By chance the two notable ones in town are right across the street from each other, and the first I visited was Barner Books.
Read moreMonument Square, Portland, ME
Portland, Maine is one of my favorite places to go book hunting, and not just because I can grab one of the best milkshakes in the universe at Duck Fat while I do it, but also because there are so many bookstore options available, from those exclusively selling brand new releases to those specializing in secondhand and hard-to-find vintage titles. Longfellow Books has a perfect balance between them, with all the best new bestsellers as well as loads of discounted books, new and old, and plenty of gifts too.
Read more7959 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, TX
Thirteen years ago when I lived in San Antonio, I used to visit Nine Lives when it was in its previous location. It was much bigger then, with a deeper selection of used titles to browse through, not to mention numerous bookshop cats darting around (hence the name), but now the name has another meaning, I suppose. The new shop is smaller, and less extensive in its literary offerings, and it seems to be starting over as a more multi-media shop. A new life, and hopefully not its last. From the value offered, one imagines it should find a unique niche in the local market.
(Image above is borrowed from the store’s Facebook page.)
Read more121 Market Street, Northampton, MA
How much more convenient can a bookstore be than three doors down from our Airbnb, which was also a two-minute walk from the heart of downtown? Yet the block and the shop itself felt pleasantly quiet, quaintly set back from the hustle and bustle, allowing for a leisurely browse through the narrow aisles stacked and jammed with books. The number of books they have piled about in this small shop is impressive, and I thoroughly enjoyed taking a look!
Read more8 Main Street, Amherst, Massachusetts
Amherst Books quickly reminded me of some of my favorite bookstores, the multi-room shops full of eclectic displays and a selection of books that will always surprise and keep you guessing each time you walk through the door. With books new, used, and vintage, this two-floor shop has something for everyone, even if your wallet is a little lighter than it used to be with these gas prices.
Read more125 Northwest Loop 410, San Antonio, TX
I already reviewed another one of this company’s locations, but each location does have its own vibe and this is the first Half Price Books I started going to when I lived in San Antonio from 2006 through 2009. During this time I was voracious for anything Bukowski, Kerouac, Hunter Thompson, Steinbeck, and the like, and I always found excellent editions of their books here. I have probably purchased at least a dozen collection of Bukowski’s poetry from the 80s and 90s in this location alone, so any time I’m back in SA, I hit this one up to dig for gold. It never fails to have something interesting!
Read more3613 Broadway, San Antonio, TX
My time was running out during my last trip to San Antonio, but I managed to sneak in a quick visit to this second-hand and vintage bookshop on Broadway south of the UIW campus and the Witte Museum. Cheever Books recently went through a renovation and reorganization, so if you went in the past, it might be a different ball game for you now. And if you’re looking for fine and rare books about local or regional historical topics, this is absolutely the place for you, Texans!
Read more34 Carmine Street, New York, NY
Separated by more than 18 months and a worldwide pandemic, I finally returned to New York City this June to scour for more bookshops. It was both awkward and a relief, roaming the streets and subways packed with people after having to avoid them for so long, but to do so vaccinated allowed me to enjoy that golden hour magic in early evening Manhattan, the neon just beginning to glow, the sounds of music from boomboxes in small west village parks, the rose-gold hue of the sky as the sun sets into New Jersey horizons across the Hudson. And it allowed me to discover the eclectic and wallet-friendly Unoppressive Non-Imperialist Bargain Bookstore, a throwback to a more defiant artistic culture one doesn’t always find in a city full of shallow Instagrammers and fleece vest-wearing finance bros. In fact, finding this shop felt like a perfect return to the unique experience that is book browsing in one of the greatest literary cities in the world.
Read more139 Main Street, Cooperstown, NY
Tucked against Blackbird Bay at the southern end of Otsego Lake is the little town everyone this side of the International Date Line equates with baseball, Cooperstown, NY. And amongst all the little downtown shops and cafes replete with signage dedicated to America’s pastime and the hall of fame, there’s a used and antiquarian bookstore called Willis Monie Books, and for what it might lack in flash and pizazz, it more than makes up for in quantity and quality.
Read more14 Church Street, Burlington, VT
Crow Bookshop is located in the heart of Burlington’s Church Street Marketplace, a vibrant, bustling street closed to vehicle traffic filled with shops and restaurants, and lots and lots of tourists. It was high summer during my visit, which meant street performers, music, and a kaleidoscope of food smells emanating from every block, but when I saw the silhouetted sign for Crow Bookshop, it all disappeared. I wanted nothing more than to explore and browse. Mask on and notebook in hand, I went inside.
Read more608 Main Street, Hobart, NY
WM H Adams was the last bookshop I explored during my trip to Hobart in the pandemic summer of 2020, but it was not at all the least of the shops I found there. The first impressing is like walking into a little slice of an ivy league library plucked out of Yale or Harvard and plunked down in a small town shop in the Catskills. The sets and collections were gorgeously bound and set the tone for a real throwback experience.
Read more81 Alden Street, Cherry Valley, NY
I first heard about the Cherry Valley Bookstore from some other bookshop hunting friends, and we found the tiny yellow house in the middle of the village with fresh snow adorning the little roof and the fireplace inside pumping warm air throughout the main room. The shop gave off a welcoming feeling after our chilly walk from the car, and even better, the stacks of books inside were full of surprises.
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